NAVER Maps, a division of NAVER with 21M MAUs, is the top map service in South Korea. I led the redesign of the indoor map feature, identifying and solving problems with various design alternatives. The revamped indoor map was successfully deployed for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in September 2018.
Role
UX Designer
Area
End-To-End/Strategy/Research/Wireframe
Team
1 UX Designer(myself)
1 UI Designer
6 Engineer
Timeline
8 months
(2017.07 ~ 2018.01)
Problem Statement
"How do we help users easily navigate indoor locations while using maps?"
Users had difficulty navigating indoor locations due to limited indoor map coverage
and the lack of clear entry points to the indoor maps, resulting in unsatisfactory outcomes.
Process
Identifying user’s pain points and continuous tests
to maximize the users interactions and the flow.
Improved NAVER Maps “indoor map” feature by analyzing and defining the experience of using the feature, focusing on what users felt.
Before
Developing
After Release
01
Plan
02
Problem definition
03
Wireframes & Specification
04
Release (Jan 2018)
05
Users’ feedback
Business problem
Competitive Analysis
Survey
Ideation Sesion
Sketch
User Flow & Interation
Mid-fi Prototypes & testing
Feature Specification
Manage project milestones
Closed-beta usability test
Released App usability test
Iteration
Impact
The results showed positive developments in our business metrics, and the new indoor map was successfully deployed for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in September 2018.
Pain Point
Tab
floor button
When Users searched...
Not sure what floor it is
When Users use indoor map...
Difficulty accessing indoor maps
😖
Pain point
It's hard to find detailed floor information
Is the indoor map on NAVER Maps?
I want to find the location of a shop in a large building, but I don't have a map.
I want to find the location of a specific shop in a large building, but can't find the indoor map.
To view the indoor location on a map,
users must toggle between separate screens.
Users encountered a cumbersome experience while navigating indoor locations,
requiring them to switch between the list and map views.
Tab
Tab
The floor converter
Indoor maps had limited availability
Indoor maps hadn't been released within subway systems, leading to user challenges in locating exits and utilizing interior-connected subway exits.
Tab
I want to find the location of a specific shop in a large building, but can't find the indoor map.
I want to see my immediate surroundings, but in the subway, no matter how much I zoom in, I can only see the exit(s), so it's hard to figure out where I am and how to move around in a crowded station.
Design direction
My aim is to make indoor locations to the existing map navigational context.
We wanted to test the usability through working prototypes, which would ideally validate one design option over another. To make the prototypes, I worked on wireframes and feature specifications alongside our software engineers.
01
How do users explore indoor maps?
02
How much indoor map information should be provided?
Recognizing user’s main complainant with the previous design, we decided to expand indoor map coverage to include further details.
+ Additional
At what zoom level should indoor maps be displayed?
Exploration
To reach the final design, I benchmarked various global map services and iterated through our team critiques.
Step 1
How should we develop the design?
It should be intuitive and allow you to easily navigate different indoor locations.
Option A
All ‘Indoor’ button
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
All indoor location
By exposing the 'Indoor' button on the map, users can immediately navigate to a list of all indoor locations.
However, to see the details of said locations, users will need to traverse one depth deeper.
Option B
Floor button
3
2
1
3
2
1
Users can directly navigate to indoor locations by floor button. The floor button allows users to see places by floor and view location details right away.
Step 2
When should I show the indoor map?
1
ON/OFF interaction for indoor maps
Map
Map
floor switcher
button
ON
Center
Center
Indoor floor layer
ON
Indoor floor layer
OFF
Center Point
2
Redefine the zoom level that shows the indoor map
As opposed to NAVER Maps, other services had started to expose indoor maps at a level where users can recognize their surroundings.
Zoom Level
General map
Indoor Map
Floor Converter
General map
Indoor Map
Floor Converter
Indoor Map
Polygons
Indoor location
detail Icons
General map
Indoor Map
Floor Converter
Indoor Map
Polygons
Indoor location
detail Icons
General map
Indoor Map
Floor Converter
Indoor Map
Polygons
Indoor location
detail Icons
Indoor Map
Polygons
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Naver map
Google map
Baidu map
Apple
Indoor location
detail Icons
Findings
This can be seen as an easy-to-view level for comparing indoor and outdoor information.
3
Define zoom levels and exposure factors for different indoor map navigation situations
Considered how users find their current locations and their destination point in each scenario.
- searching their current location
- searching for a specific location
- searching for directions from their current location to a destination point
Brainstorm session
Started from Sketches
Scenarios
Solution
Quick indoor place navigation with new indoor map toggle interactivity and floor buttons
1. Provides 0-depth access to places on each floor with a floor button
Based on user research, accessing the indoor map and navigating to specific places was the most frustrating part of the process.
I implemented a floor button feature that allows users to immediately navigate to any indoor place on any floor.
Instantly identify indoor locations, even when searching for buildings.
Expose floor buttons at certain zoom levels when zooming in on a map
If panned in a little further, the rooms on the first floor are exposed by default
2. Provides a list of all indoor locations directly from the building's own detail page
It's important to be able to select and navigate floor by floor on the map, but we've also improved the detail pages of the buildings so users can quickly skim through the places inside.
Tab
3. Show indoor maps at a higher level than before
I hypothesized that indoor location information would be easier to recognize if it was shown at a level where places were more visible from a bird's eye view.
We also worked with our designers to improve the visibility of the indoor frame to expose the place information.
Before (Zoom level 11)
Difficult to Match Indoor and Outdoor Places
After (zoom level 14~15)
Increase visibility of indoor place layers
4. Extending indoor map coverage - subway indoor maps
Previously, we didn't provide indoor maps within the subway stations. Now, we've exposed an indoor map available inside the subway so that users can seamlessly transition to their destination and back.
Present indoor maps in subways even at low zoom levels.
Find directions to buildings that are connected to the metro station.
Outcome
Redesigned the floor list buttons' UI and the indoor path finding flow.
Now, the floor button appears when the user has searched for a large building with an indoor map, or when the screen is positioned on the map at the centre of the indoor map.
They can also easily leave the indoor map view if they need to, so as not to without disrupting the outdoor cycle.
AS IS
TO BE
Final Design
New user flow for indoor maps
Quick and easy indoor location navigation with floor buttons and improved map transitions
Takeaways
New features enhance value, efficiency,
but considering user interaction is equally important.
I challenged myself to think about how to solve our users' needs and communicate effectively with stakeholders throughout the process. I quickly tested my designs by creating low-and high-fidelity prototypes and getting weekly feedback from the team. After a few iterations, we settled on an intuitive solution that was specifically tailored to address our users' concerns.

This project led me to realize the importance of user interaction
and how collaborate with a variety of stakeholders.
Privious
Indoor maps for NAVER Maps